The city hall opened the accreditation process last year and since then there are 38 companies registered in the city (one for every 63 inhabitants), without having to comply with the same requirements of the Ministry of Finance.
And this group, which already operates through websites with various types of sports betting, includes 'Bets" - as operators are called in Brazil - that had their registration denied by the Ministry of Finance and others that did not even try.
On platforms such as Play na Bet, Betinha and Bet10, endorsed by the city of Bodó, it is possible to bet on football, basketball, volleyball, tennis and combat matches, as well as play tiger.
Aposta 7 only offers online games, such as “Ratinho Sortudo”, lucky roulette, game shows and live casinos. The latter boasts the seal of the Bodó Municipal Lottery (LotSeridó) on the internet and guarantees that it operates “in compliance” with the Treasury regulations, although it has not obtained a federal license.
The person currently in charge of “Betolândia Potiguar” is the pro-Bolsonaro mayor Horison José da Silva (PL). The justification for the accreditation, which began during the administration of his predecessor, Marcelo Mário Porto Filho (PSD), is to increase revenue “without depending on new taxes or direct investments from the public treasury, directly serving the public interest”.
For now, however, the grants should bring in R$190,000 (US$32,500) into the city's coffers, in addition to 2% of the profit (after deducting expenses). The same 37 lotteries would have to pay R$1.14 billion (US$195 m) to the federal government.
Brazilian law allows municipal and state lotteries to authorize 'Bets' to operate restricted to the municipality and state, and they cannot operate nationwide.
The Finance rules define that lotteries must operate under the domain “.bet.br”. However, in Bodó, they continue to operate under various domains, such as “.com”, “.game” and even “.bet”, confusing them with the official domain.
Source: O Globo
